Package



April 24, 1951 s. R. HOWARD 2,549,970

PACKAGE Filed March 27, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aff-ily] 47- TOR/VE?" April 24, 1951 s. R. HOWARD PACKAGE Filed March 27, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 5)/ MML, QLMQLLM.

Patented Apr. 24, 1951 PACKAGE Stanley R. Howard, Milton, Mass., assigner to Pneumatic Scale Corporation, Limited, Quincy, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application March 27, 1946, Serial No. 657,374

1 Claim. l

This invention relates to a novel package and more particularly to a novel package for containing commodities such as breakfast cereals.

In general, the invention has for an object to provide a novel construction of package which may be economically manufactured and in which the cost of the container itself is reduced to a minimum while at the same time providing a stable and rigid enclosure for the commodity being packaged and one wherein the top and bottom closures are protected against being torn open during shipment to thereby enable the package to successfully withstand commercial shipment and handling. f

A still further object of the invention is to provide a novel package of the character specied having the advantageous features above mentioned and which in addition lends itself most advantageously to the display of the commodity being packaged.

With these general objects in view, and such others as may hereinafter appear, the invention consists in the novel package and in the various structures, arrangements and combinations of parts hereinafter described and particularly dened in the claim at the end of this specification.

In the drawings illustrating different embodiments of the invention, Fig. 1 is a perspective of the liner component of the present package prior to being folded and sealed; Fig. 2 is a perspective of the outer carton board sleeve which is used in producing the present package; Fig. 3 is a perspective illustrating the assembled liner and outer sleeve of the completedA package, showing the liner in its lled condition; Figs. 4, 5 andv 6 are details in perspective illustrating successive positions into which the top of the liner is folded in top closing the same; Fig. '.7 is a perspective of the package with the filled and closed liner moved into the position which it assumes prior to the tucking in of the end flapsV of the top closure between the body of the outer sleeve and the liner; and Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the complete package.

The present inventionl seeks to provide a novel package which is particularly useful as an individual cereal package adapted to be used in hotels, restaurants, dining cars, and other places, to be opened at the time that the cereal is served and eaten. Such individual packages of cereal are usually shipped in a shipping container in lots of 6, l2, or multiples thereof. It is also desirable that the individual cereal' or other package be substantially moisture-proof to the end that the cereal or other commodity may retainy its crspf closures being ness and freshness, and as heretofore constructed the containers for individual cereal packages have been lined with waxed or moisture-resisting paper and the outer carton provided with top and bottom naps Which were sealed in overlapping relation in the usual manner.

The amount of cereal or other commodity constituting an individual serving is so small that experience has shown that the cost of the material constituting the carton and the liner comprises the major portion of the total cost of the individual cereal package. In addition, the usual type of lined carton heretofore used with its tightly glued overlapping flaps forming the top and bottom closures of the carton has been found to be difficult to open when the cereal is being served, and as a result the usual practice has vbeen to use a knife to cut transversely through the body of the carton, then spreading the same to open it permitting the cereal to spill into the bowl in which it is to be served.A A type of carton that enabled the relative cost of the carton and liner as compared with the total cost of the package to be materially reduced, and in which the top of the carton could be readily opened and the cereal or other material poured therefrom are some of the advantageous objects which the present invention seeks to attain. M

Referring now to the drawings, kthe present complete packageembodies an inner bag of relatively thin bag-forming material such as waterproof paper, cellophane and the like, as distinguished from the heavier and more costly carton board forming materials and also an outer sleeve surrounding said bag and imparting to the combined structure sufficient stability and strength to enable it to be handled, shippedand packaged according toy the practices now employed with existing types of individual cereal packages. Provision is preferably made for forming both the top and bottom closures of the inner bag with an elongated pull out type of closure, which lends itself to most eicient sealing and the triangular ends of the closures are extended between the inner bag andv the outer sleeve, to provide a substantially smooth top and bottom surface for the package, thereby enhancing the appearance, visibility of the commodity through the same and offering minimum liability of the top. and bottom torn open during shipment and handling.

In its preferred forms, the package comprises a bag Il! rectangular in section and containing a commodity l2 and having itsv top closed by an elongated closure I4 extending transversely across mandrel, and the bottom thereof closed and sealed to constitute a closed bottom of the bag in any usual or preferred manner. Y Preferably the bottom of the bag may be closed by a transversely extended folded portion terminating in triangular tabs 22 which are preferably folded ilat against the opposite sides of the body of the bag as it is thus being formed on the mandrel, and in this condition the bag is then provided with its outer sleeve I8 of board forming material embracing and concealing the folded triangular tabs 22 of the bottom closure. In practice the sleeve I8 may also be -wrapped around the bag and mandrel and sealed at the side seam 2|, and the disposition of the sleeve with respect to the bag may preferably be as illustrated in Fig. 3,

wherein theV upper portion of the bag which ultimately is to'form the top closure for the bag projects labove the upper edges of the sleeve, the bottom edges of the sleeve, and the bottom of the bag are preferably arranged to terminate in the same plane, and in this condition the assembly is removed from the mandrel `and the combined sleeve and bag is ready for the filling operation ywhich may be carried out in any suitable manner and with any suitable mechanism, preferably any of the yweighing or filling machines now upon the market.

In this respect the bag and sleeve may be handled exactly as the ordinary lined carton is handled in any of the automatic packaging ma. chines now upon the market.y After the bag has been lled in the manner described, the top of the bag may be closed, preferably by the elongated closure I4 forming Vthe triangular flaps IIB connecting the bottom of the closure and the top of the bag, after which the upstanding closure is folded over upon itself and down into the position shown in Fig. 5. In the completed package lit is desirable that the triangular end tabs I I5,V :and the portions Aof the folded top closure .which project beyond the sidesrof the bag, be Yfolded downwardly and into contact with the opposite sides of the outer sleeve as shown in Fig. 6. This folding operation may be effected by any usual or preferred folding instrumentalities embodied in the top closure machines now upon the market, and after the triangular tabs I'I, have been thus folded down upon the outer sides of the sleeve, provision is then made for elevating the bag with relation to the sleeve into the position shown in Fig. 7 whereupon the projecting triangular tabs and folded ends of the closure .may be pressed against the side of the bag so that upon subsequent depression of the bag these tabs and ends are introduced between'the sleeve and the side of the bag to thus effectively conceal the same and to hold the ends of the closure in a Aprotected position.

VIn order to facilitate the opening of the package, the outer sleeve is preferably provided with a tearing tab indicated generally at 50, formed by weakened lines 52 in the sleevey |18 at the upper Lend of one of the panels thereof. The tearing tab may be detached from the body of the panel by outboard pressure exerted thereon thu P king the adhesive bond which may be provided as shown at 54 in Fig. 8 to hold the inner bag within the outer sleeve until such times as it is desired to open the same. After the bond has been broken the inner bag may be conveniently lifted into a position to expose the top closure and the latter broken to permit the contents thereof to be conveniently poured therefrom.

Instead of the adhesive bond 54, the inner bag may be detachably secured to the outer sleeve by the provision of a narrow band of adhesive `56, as shown in Fig. 8, arranged to be disposed near the bottom portion of the bag and between one wall thereof and its adjacent panel of the outer sleeve. This bond may be conveniently broken when it is desired to open the bag by upward pressure exerted upon the bottom of the bag.

From the description thus far, it will be observed that the present 'construction of package, particularly in its preferred form provides protection for the triangular end tabs I6, 22 of the top and bottom closures respectively which are tucked in between the body of the bag and the outer sleeve, thus protecting these triangular endtabs from being torn during handling and shipping of the package and imparting to the top and bottom of the bag a substantially smooth appearance, the major portion of the top and bottom comprising a single layer of the bagforming material. With this construction, when the bag is formed of transparentsheetv material, such as cellophane, or the like, the contents of the package are clearly visible for display purposes through the top and bottom of the bag, while the more rigid'structure of the outer sleeve serves to afford ample protection for the package during handling and shipment.

While it is preferred to form the top closure of the inner bag as an elongated pulled out closure, other forms of top closures may be employed which provide portions thereof of suicient length to be capable of being tucked down between the outer sleeve and the inner bag.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been herein illustrated and described, it

will be understood that the invention may beVV following claim.

Having thus described the invention, what'vis `claimed is: Y

A package comprising a sleeve rectangular in shape and of a stiff material forming a flapless jacket open at its top and its bottom, a container of transparent flexible material of a height substantially equal to the length of said jacket, said container being sealed at one end to provide a bottom closure located at the open bottom end of the jacket and lying entirely within the bounds of the jacket, said container having a folded top closure located at the open top end of the jacket and lying entirely within the bounds of the same, said last-named closure comprising a transverse fold terminating in tabs extending laterally of and for a substantial distance beyond two opposite sides of the container, said tabs being folded l down against said opposite sides'of the container so that each tab lies between one of two opposed walls ofthe jacket and one of said sides of the container, said container being loosely fitted within said jacket and free from attachment to the walls thereof with the exception` of .2L ,Small bonding area of adhesive between the jacket and the container, said adhesive providing a temporary frangible anchorage to hold the vcontainer and its tabs within the jacket withV the tabs in REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Number Name Date Bent Nov. 19, 1929 Klohr et a1 Apr. 13, 1937 Vogt Sept. 17, 1940 Palmer Feb. 24, 1942 `Bergstein Sept. 29, 1942 Carr June 15, 1943 Davis Jan. 11, 1944 Moore Feb. 22, 1944 Moore Jan. 30, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date France Aug. 28, 1920 

